Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is estimated to affect approximately 0.24 to 1 percent of the Indian population and is twice as common in women compared to men. It affects more than 180 million people in India; the prevalence is higher than many well-known diseases such as diabetes, AIDS, and cancer. Around 14% of the Indian population seeks a doctor's help every year for this joint disease. In the series on rheumatoid arthritis, the team of Medicircle is speaking to many eminent rheumatologists so that there is awareness about all aspects of this disease amongst people. 

Dr. Aadhar Dhooria is an Honorary Consultant, Department of Rheumatology, SDMH, Jaipur. He has worked as a Senior Research Associate at PGI, Chandigarh gaining invaluable experience in the management of difficult rheumatological disorders. Dr. Adhaar has carried out extensive research in the field of rheumatoid arthritis and SLE. He has also presented his research work at various international conferences such as the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). He is well versed in the management of all adult rheumatic diseases and is a life member of the Indian Rheumatology Association. 

Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital (SDMH), Jaipur is a fee-for-services and not-for-profit, multidisciplinary, 480-bed, tertiary care hospital. It houses several wards, operation theatres, ICUs, laboratories, utility services, specialties, and super specialties, including one of the best blood banks in the country, catering to the entire state of Rajasthan and neighbouring states as well.

Pain, Swelling, and Stiffness in Hands – Reason enough to visit a doctor

Dr. Dhooria points out, “Most common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis or for that matter, any arthritis is joint pain and swelling around the joints. It characteristically involves the joints of the hands. One cardinal symptom that can be easily noticed by the patient is early morning stiffness. As it is self-explanatory when you wake up in the morning and find your joints feel tight or stiff, and if it takes 30 minutes or so before you feel some life returning to your fingers, it’s RA that you are suffering from and require to visit your doctor immediately.”

Visit a General Practitioner or Orthopedic Surgeon first 

Dr. Dhooria advises that an “initial visit to a General practitioner or Orthopedic surgeon is sufficient so that they can identify and confirm that you are suffering from RA. After that, you should move on to a Rheumatologist.”

Diet Modification does not make a substantial difference but quitting smoking does 

Dr. Dhooria explains, “One harmful habit is smoking. if you smoke, you have a chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis. Patients are generally advised by their well-wishers to not have pulses, black grams, milk, etc. if they are suffering from RA. But, frankly, they don't make that big of a difference. So, what we usually tell the patient is that if a particular food makes you feel worse, don't take it. But don't modify your diet too much. As of now, the dietary factors are believed to play some role. But the definitive role is not very evident,” says Dr. Dhooria.

A normal life with minimum symptoms and side effects is possible

Dr. Dhooria sheds light on the fact that “complete cure is uncommon, but still at least 10 to 20% of patients remain without any medications and any symptoms on a long-term basis. As far as the treatment goes, we now have fantastic treatments. We have drugs, which are very cheap from hardly Rs.10/- Rs.20/- a day, to those which are very expensive too, costing about Rs. 50,000/- a month. The good thing is that even the cheap drugs work very well. More than 80% of my patients live their life to the full extent with minimal symptoms and minimal side effects,” says Dr. Dhooria.

Reduce the dread associated with RA

Dr. Dhooria informs that deformities occur when the patients neglect to take any action about their symptoms in the early stage of the disease. Things take a bad shape only after 5-10 years and by that time it's late. Adding positivity, he mentions, “Even patients who seem to have a very bad form of the disease respond very well to treatment because rheumatologists try their best to enable maximum functionality with minimal pain and least possible side effects. You just have to take your medicines properly, exercise, maintain a healthy lifestyle and there'll be no difference between your life before rheumatoid and after it,” says Dr. Dhooria.

Shed away the misconceptions 

Dr. Dhooria observes, “if we go to a village in any part of the country, irrespective of north, south, east or west, there is a general misconception that if you have arthritis, nothing can be done. Complete cure is indeed rare but that does not mean that you have to live with suffering and pain. I tell my patients that it's just like having hypertension or diabetes. You don’t lose hope and stop treatment and feel demotivated in those diseases. Similar is the case of RA, you have to take the prescribed drugs and get on with your life. And the good thing is that if you look in the past, way back in the 80s, and 90s, we didn't have any drugs whatsoever. People had to go about with just analgesics on steroids. And then came the 2000s, we had landmark, cheap and effective drugs which are available. We have most of the drugs that are available in the world. With the increasing competition, the cost has gone down tremendously too,” says Dr. Dhooria. 

You can get in touch with Dr. Aadhaar Dhooria at:

Email: [email protected]

Whatsapp: 8955205541

(Edited by Amrita Priya)